And while Marisa is happy to support Fulvia’s quest to achieve her desired look, inhabitants in their town of Peveragno have gone out of their way to exclude the couple.

Fulvia said: “I am now the clown of Peveragno. They point at me, they talk about me, they start inventing stories about me that I am a prostitute.

“My friends have all vanished – they didn’t accept me.

And IT (explanation tho those who are easily incensed: I'm not calling it an IT because it is transgender. I'm calling it an IT because through plastic surgery it has turned itself into something that is NOT human anymore) is surprised people respond to it they way it has turned out? Had it really had PS to look like a female HUMAN BEING, reactions would have been different, even in a very religious environment. Mental illness, indeed: not being able to see what everybody else sees; like an anorexic that looks in the mirror and continues seeing a fat person at 40 pounds weight.

I feel sad for him but also angry. He seems so selfish. Yes he's been living in the wrong body for years BUT they have no more and squeak by on the wife's meager income and he's using it to get these surgeries.

I know I'm probably having a go-to-oprah moment, but wow, just step back and consider that society seems so bad for this person that they would go to those lengths to not feel like shit about themselves. Sad.

Burt Johnson: I don't drink because drinking affects your decision-making.
Arthur: You may be right. I can't decide.